Public policy: 'what governments do, why do they do it, what difference it makes'; 'whatever governments choose to do or not to do'; intention leading to action or inaction; a course of action or inaction; public policies deal with a wide variety of substantive areas: defense, energy, environment, foreign affairs, education, welfare, health care, crime control, transportation, taxation, housing, social security, economic maters and so on and so forth; range from the vital (allocation of billions to defense systems) to the trivial (designation of an official national bird); public policies deal with the allocation of over 30 % of the gross national product, encompassing services at the federal, state and local levels, impacting activities of private sector organizations (corporations), groups and individuals; they aim at achieving the public interest.

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